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TechnologyDaily Mobile
Nations Reach Digital Broadcasting Deal
by Danielle Belopotosky
An international agreement was reached Friday that sets a 2015 deadline to bring digital radio and television services to Africa, Europe, and Iran and the rest of the Middle East.
The treaty, which was signed at the International Telecommunication Union regional radiocommunication conference in Geneva, was heralded as a major step in implementing the goals of the U.N.-backed World Summit on the Information Society. The pact will set the platform to expand wireless services and create new distribution networks, according to ITU.
Yoshio Utsumi, ITU's secretary-general, called the accord "the most important achievement of the conference." He said the digital plan "provides not only new possibilities for structured development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but also sufficient flexibilities for adaptation to the changing telecommunication environment."
The regional agreement identifies the use of airwaves in the 174-230 megahertz and 470-862 MHz bands of spectrum for digital services. The transition period will begin this month and run through June 17, 2015. Some countries opted for a five-year extension for the174-230 MHz band.
The use of the spectrum will require fewer airwaves to carry more channels and will support the convergence of new services, such as the reception of mobile Internet, multimedia and video. It also will support opportunities for using innovations such as handheld television broadcasts and high-definition television.
The World Radiocommunication Conference is slated to meet in the fall of 2007 to work through regulatory issues that come with the use of the spectrum for the new services.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, meanwhile, launched the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The alliance was approved in April as a follow-up to November's WSIS meeting in Tunisia.
Intel Chairman Craig Barrett will chair the alliance's 10-member steering committee, which will include representatives from the ITU, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the United Nations. The committee is charged with providing executive oversight.
Another body called the strategy council will provide overall guidance and will set the alliance's priorities. Members include Cisco Systems Chairman John Chambers, Siemens President and CEO Thomas Ganswindt, as well as representatives from IBM and Microsoft and from U.N. members, the nonprofit sector and international organizations.
In separate news, the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific on Sunday announced the opening of an ICT development training center in Incheon, South Korea.
Microsoft signed an agreement pledging its support for the center, according to the United Nations. The center will serve as a resource to technology professionals from developing nations across the Asian and Pacific regions.
Australia Unveils Online Filtering Policy
The Australian government announced Wednesday that it will create a comprehensive online filtering scheme to curtail Internet pornography. Under the program, parents will be able to receive free Internet filters for their home computers.
Moreover, the $86 million plan will require national libraries that provide Internet terminals to create "child-friendly zones" with filters that can be disabled when used by adults, according to Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Minister Helen Coonan.
The filtering program is the core of an Australian package designed to protecting families online. NetAlert, an Internet safety agency, will be housed within the Australian Communications and Media Authority. It also will receive an additional $3.69 million for public awareness programs.
To ensure that filtering technologies are up to par, the ACMA will study the effectiveness of filtering at the Internet-service-provider level in Tasmania. The communications body also will provide annual reports to monitor international ISP-filtering trends.
"This is the single-biggest commitment to protecting families online in the history of the Internet in Australia," Coonan said in a statement. "It puts a safer Internet experience within the grasp of every Australian family and it is a solution to the problem posed by Internet pornography that is simple, safe, effective and free."
The free filtering software will be offered via a free Internet download or on a compact disc. ISPs also must offer updated filters to existing customers at no cost.
The program also includes funding to provide the Australian federal police with the necessary tools and resources to investigate and close online pedophile networks.
E-Literacy Seen As Problematic in Europe
More than one-third of the population in the European Union lacks basic computer skills, a survey released Tuesday found.
The European Commission study revealed that the greatest disparities among the e-literate and people lacking computer skills in the EU's 25 countries are mostly generational.
The study also found that e-literacy rates improve as age ranges decrease. Some 65 percent of the population between 55 and 74 years old had no basic computer skills, compared with10 percent of those between the ages of 16 and 24.
Disparities among EU nations also were uncovered. Those with the highest percentage of e-illiteracy were Greece, at 65 percent, followed by Italy, Hungary, Cyprus and Portugal. Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Austria had the highest levels of basic computer skills.
E-literacy rates were slightly higher among men. Education level also had a positive influence on proficiency levels within age groups.
WIPO Appoints A New Executive Team
The World Intellectual Property Organization on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new management team. WIPO Director-General Kamil Idris approved plans for a team of four deputy directors-general and three assistant directors-general, according to a WIPO statement.
Michael Keplinger, senior counselor at the office of legislation and international affairs in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has been named a deputy director-general. The others include Francis Gurry of Australia, Narendra Kumar Sabharwai of India and Phillippe Petit of France. Gurry and Peiti were re-appointed.
Assistant directors-general include Binying Wang of China, Ernesto Rubio of Uruguay and Geoffrey Onyeama of Nigeria. Rubio is the only incumbent in the job.
In other news, a British judge earlier this month granted permission to hear an appeal over whether computer programs should be excluded from the patent process.
"The issue of exclusions is of public interest, sufficiently uncertain and thus worthy of consideration," the judge said, agreeing to hear a test case about a series of exceptions, including software, to Britain's patent law. One article of the law excludes "a scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business, or a program for a computer."
The case involves an Australian man who developed a Web program that automatically gathers documents necessary to incorporate a company, according to Out-Law.com.
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